1901 Iron and Steel Institute: Works
Note: This is a sub-section of 1901 Iron and Steel Institute
VISITS AND EXCURSIONS AT THE GLASGOW MEETING.
In connection with the Glasgow Meeting an influential Local Reception Committee was formed to make arrangements for receiving the Institute. The Chairman was Mr. William Beardmore (Member of Council), Mr. Archibald Colville was Vice-Chairman, and the other members were:—Mr. Robert Angus, Sir William Arrol, M.P.; Mr. Andrew • Bain, Mr. George Beard, Mr. James M. Blair, Mr. William Clark, Mr. David Colville, Mr. J. C. Cuninghame, Mr. Walter Dixon, Mr. Peter Donaldson, Mr. Cohn Dunlop, Mr. James Dunnachie, Mr. George Garrett, Mr. A. Griffiths, Dr. William Jacks, LL.D., Mr. James G. Jenkins, Mr. James Kerr, Mr. Andrew Lamberton, Mr. A. Bonar Law, M.P., Mr. T. R. J. Logan, Mr. William Lorimer, Mr. David Marshall, Mr. A. K. M'Cosh, Mr. Archibald McLellan, Mr. John F. Miller, Mr. Thomas Miller, Mr. William Muirhead, Mr. George Neilson, Mr. James Neilson, Mr. R. Y. Pickering, Mr. E. J. Windsor Richards, Sir David Richmond, Mr. Neil Robson, Mr. T. B. Rogerson, Mr. Robert Russell, Mr. John Spencer, Mr. J. G. Stewart, Mr. James Baird Thorneycroft, Mr. Thomas Turner (Kilmarnock), and Mr. William Wylie. The Executive Committee consisted of Mr. Williams Beardmore, chairman, Mr. George Beard, Mr. William Clark, Mr. David Colville, Mr. Walter Dixon, Mr. George Garrett, Mr. James G. Jenkins, Mr. E. J. Windsor Richards, Mr. J. G. Stewart, and Mr. William Wylie.
It would be very difficult adequately to express the visitors' appreciation of the excellence of the arrangements made by this Committee, or of the hearty manner in which the members were welcomed during the meeting. Mr. James G. Jenkins, who was a member of the Executive Committee for the Glasgow Meeting in 1885, kindly acted as Honorary Secretary during the meeting, and will long be remembered for his extreme courtesy, tact, and organising skill. There was a very large attendance of members, many of whom were accompanied by ladies. The mornings of September 2nd and 3rd were devoted to the reading and discussion of papers, and on each of those days a sumptuous luncheon was provided in St. Andrew's Hall by invitation of the Reception Committee. In the afternoon there were excursions, arranged by the International Engineering Congress, to the Steel Company of Scotland's Hallside Steel Works; to Messrs. William Baird & Co.'s Gartsherrie Iron Works, Coatbridge; and to the Works of the Waverley Iron and Steel Company, Coatbridge. In the evening there was a conversazione in the City Chambers for members of the International Engineering Congress and the ladies accompanying them, by invitation of the Lord Provost and Corporation of Glasgow. The spectacle was a most beautiful one. The corridors and halls were tastefully decorated with flowers and plants, and upwards of 3000 guests were present.
In the afternoon of September 4th, there was an excursion, arranged by the International Engineering Congress, to the Steel Company of Scotland's Blochairn Works. In the evening a banquet to the members of the Iron and Steel Institute was given in the St. Andrew's Hall by invitation of the Reception Committee.
The whole day of September 5th was devoted to excursions, confined to members of the Iron and Steel Institute; (1) To Glengarnock Iron and Steel Works, by invitation of Mr. J. C. Cuninghame; (2) to the Works of the Glasgow Iron and Steel Company, Wishaw; and (3) to the Works of Carron Company at Falkirk.
Members were entertained to luncheon at Glengarnock on the invitation of Mr. J. C. Cuninghame; at Wishaw by invitation of the Glasgow Iron and Steel Company; and at Falkirk by invitation of the Carron Company. A visit to the Dalzell Works of Messrs. David Colville & Sons, Motherwell, had also been arranged, but owing to the lamented sudden death of Mr. John Colville, M.P., it was abandoned. In the evening there was a ball in St. Andrew's Hall for members of the International Engineering Congress, which was very numerously attended, and in every way successful.
The whole day of September 6th was devoted to an excursion on the Clyde in the well-known steamer Columba, by invitation of the Reception Committee. Of the 650 ladies and gentlemen who availed themselves of the invitation, 110 started from Bridge Wharf at 8 A.M. and breakfasted on board, while the remainder proceeded by special train to Gourock, and there joined the steamer. Leaving Gourock at 10.45 A.M., the steamer proceeded across Rothesay Bay, through the Kyles of Bute, to Ardrishaig, and returned round the Cumbraes, past Largs and Wemyss Bay to Gourock. Breakfast, luncheon, and tea were provided on board, and the excellent band of the Lanark Royal Engineers was in attendance. A very interesting souvenir of the excursion was presented to each guest by the Reception Committee in the form of a map measuring 24 inches by 12 inches, showing the route followed.
During the meeting special free trains were kindly provided by the Caledonian, the North British, and the Glasgow and South-Western Railway Companies, and hospitality was dispensed by the Committees of Management of the Conservative Club, of the Imperial Union Club, and of the Liberal Club, who were good enough to accord the privileges of the club to members of 'the Institute during the Glasgow meeting.
THE INTERNATIONAL ENGINEERING CONGRESS.
The Glasgow meeting of the Iron and Steel Institute was of special interest, inasmuch as it formed a section of the International Engineering Congress, which was probably the largest meeting of engineers ever held. The official list of members contained 2130 names, of which 242 were foreign delegates.
The Congress was in outcome of the Exhibition; and its intrinsic importance and its magnitude might be gathered from the fact that no fewer than twenty-seven technical and industrial societies and institutions took part in the proceedings, and organised the work of the various sections, while a very large number of delegates representing foreign Governments and societies attended. By permission of the University Court, the meetings were held in the University building, the various lecture theatres being utilised for the sectional meetings and the large halls for the general meetings and receptions. The grounds of the Exhibition itself adjoined the University, and special facilities for visiting the Exhibition were afforded the members of the Congress.
The Honorary President of the Congress was Lord Kelvin, the Acting President being Mr. James Mansergh, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Mr. J. D. Cormack was General Secretary. The Congress was divided into nine sections, as follows: 1. Railways.—Chairman, Sir Benjamin Baker; Hon. Secretary, Mr. R. Elliott Cooper. 2. Waterways and Maritime Works.—Chairman, Sir John Wolfe-Barry; Hon. Secretary, Professor L. F. Vernon Harcourt. 3. Mechanical.—Chairman, Mr. W. H. Maw, President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers; Hon. Secretary, Mr. Edgar Worthington. 4. Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.— Chairman, the Earl of Glasgow, President of the Institution of Naval Architects; Hon. Secretary, Mr. R. W. Dana. 5. Iron and Steel.— Chairman, Mr. William Whitwell, President of the Iron and Steel Institute; Hon. Secretary, Mr. Bennett H. Brough. 6. Mining.— Chairman, Mr. James S. Dixon, President of the Mining Institute of Scotland; Hon. Secretary, Mr. James Barrowman. 7. Municipal.— Chairman, Mr. E. George Mawbey, President of the Incorporated Association of Municipal and County Engineers; Hon. Secretary. Mr. Thomas Cole. 8. Gas.—Chairman, Mr. George Livesey; Hon. Secretary, Mr. J. W. Helps. 9. Electrical.—Chairman, Mr. W. E. Langdon; Hon. Secretary, Mr. W. G. Macmillan.
Considerably over 100 papers were contributed, the list of contributors containing the names of some of the most eminent members of the Engineering profession. The assembling of the Congress was celebrated by a dinner given in the St. Andrew's Hall by the Executive Committee of the Congress. Dr. Robert Caird (Chairman of the Executive Committee) occupied the chair, and among the company present, which numbered over 300, were the Lord Provost of Glasgow (Mr. Samuel Chisholm), Mr. James Mansergh, Principal Story, the Earl of Glasgow, Mr. Wm. Whitwell, and the principal foreign delegates and honorary members. On September 3rd, the proceedings of the Congress were formally inaugurated by the President, Mr. James Mansergh, who received the foreign delegates and honorary members in the Bute Hall.
The reception having been concluded, Mr. Mansergh delivered a short address. After tendering a cordial welcome to all engineers —especially to those from abroad—and thanking the authors of the papers contributed to the various sections, Mr. Mansergh proceeded to refer to certain matters of interest to engineers working under modern conditions. There had been framed many definitions of engineering and of the engineer, but none adequate, and at the same time sufficiently exact and exclusive. An engineer might hold a diploma, or he might not. He might be entitled to append a string of letters to his name, or he might not possess a single title to nominal distinction. That was because engineering did not consist in being, but in doing; for engineering was the only high art which depended as much on its cheapness for its excellence as upon any other item in the sum of achievement. There was an American definition of an engineer which stated that " be is a man who can do well for one dollar things that anybody could do somehow for double the money." A good deal of wasted ingenuity would be saved if those who engaged in every kind of engineering work would remember to use the money standard as well as the foot-rule and the higher mathematics. Real engineering must be mastered as it was realised on works in progress. It had no authoritative text-book. The engineer must cherish his ideals or he would sink into the routineer. He left as little as possible to chance, and, if wise, he would not rely upon his best mathematics any further than he could see them. An alarm had been sounded in their ears of late, warning them that the inhabitants of the United Kingdom had touched their high water-mark "in respect to the prosperity derivable from the prosecution of those manufacturing industries which were based upon engineering, or served by it with the means of transport and communication. This might be so. Our nation had no royal secret for arresting the revolution of fortune's wheel. The question of moment to the British nation was, Should we maintain our ground, or even increase our lead? He could not tell. Brains were no peculiar possession of our nationality. Would the engineer in future flourish best in Britain or abroad? One heard much talk nowadays about the British need for more technical education for workers, and of better instruction in the art of living for the people •generally, and he was not disposed to disparage this desire for more light. He feared that only too good a case could be made out for the allegation that a mistaken statutory system had discouraged in this country—for the time being at least—the naturalisation and development of electrical engineering on the largest scale. Instead of the electrical and mechanical development of lighting and power plant being undertaken in this country upon a scale proportional to its early promise, the work had to be done by " sample "—every small specimen differing from the others. Long years passed before any English engineer was in a position to give out an electrical power contract amounting to £100,000. Meanwhile our friends in America and on the Continent of Europe were forging fast ahead. So we lost our chance, and should probably have to take other people's electrical plant for some time, instead of striking out our own leading line, as our less-governed forefathers did in railway work and shipbuilding years ago. He should like to remark how much of the real essence of economical engineering was contained in the work of settling standard sections of important constructive materials. This matter had been taken in hand by a joint committee of the Institution of Civil Engineers, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, the Institution of Naval Architects, and the Iron and Steel Institute. Sir Benjamin Baker, with a specially-selected sub-committee, had charge of bridge and general building construction; Sir John Parry, with similar assistance, of railways; Mr. Denny of shipbuilding; and Sir Douglas Fox of rolling-stock. In the hands of these eminent engineers the work would be well handled. The address concluded with brief references to some of the mole prominent features of the work about to be carried out in the various sections of the Congress.
After the presidential address members of the Congress dispersed to hear papers read. The attendance in all the sections was extremely good, and considerable discussion followed many of the papers.
THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW.
The University buildings, in which the meetings of the Institute were held, were designed by the late Sir G. Gilbert Scott, and the King (when Prince of Wales) laid the foundation stone in 1868. Executed in the Early English style, the structure is nearly 600 feet in length and 295 feet in breadth. The tower is 150 feet high, terminating in an open spire 100 feet more in height. The buildings cost more than £500,000. The Bute Hall was presented by the late Marquess of Bute, and cost £60,000, whilst the Randolph Hall cost £40,000. The University was founded in 1451 by a bull of Pope Nicholas V., and in June 1901 celebrated with great pomp its ninth jubilee, on which occasion a congratulatory address from the Iron and Steel Institute was presented.
OPENING OF THE JAMES WATT LABORATORY.
A large gathering of members of the Congress assembled in the New Engineering Laboratory at Glasgow University on September 3, on the occasion of the formal opening of the James Watt Laboratories by Lord Kelvin, Hon. President of the Congress. The Chairman of the Engineering Laboratory Committee, Sir William Arrol, who presided, opened the proceedings by introducing Professor Barr, who is to have charge of the Engineering Department. Professor Barr then explained the objects of the new laboratories and the work which, it was hoped, would be done in them in training engineers for their profession. It was estimated that the equipment of the laboratory alone would cost £14,000, and of this £12,500 had been subscribed. Lord Kelvin next referred to the great work done by James Watt in the science of engineering and to the appropriateness of dedicating a laboratory to his memory in Glasgow, where he had laboured for so many years, and had laid the foundation of what may be regarded as modern engineering. After expressing the hope that the new department would receive the financial assistance which was so essential to its efficiency and success, and referring in terms of praise to the work done by Professor Barr at Leeds and in his present position, Lord Kelvin declared the new laboratories formally opened.
Mr. Mansergh, President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, then gave a short discourse on the value of technical theoretical education to young engineers. He pointed out that the Council of the Institution of Civil Engineers now made it a condition that all aspirants for membership, before being admitted, should satisfy examiners that they had received sound scientific technical education. He then dealt with the question as to whether such education should precede or follow the practical training, and gave it as his opinion that for civil engineers a sound scientific and mathematical training should come first, and should be followed by work in the drawing-office and in works. In the case of mechanical engineers, however, he admitted that there was room for great difference of opinion as to which was the better course. Mr. Mansergh was followed by the President of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and by other speakers. In the far end of the laboratory the new 100-ton universal testing-machine, which is the latest type of Wicksteed machine built by Messrs. Buckton, was on view. The machine is of the horizontal type, and is arranged for carrying out work for tension, compression, deflection, torsion, and shearing. The straining frame is worked by a hydraulic ram supplied with water from an accumulator. When the valve between this and the cylinder is opened full bore, a test can be made at the rate of 100 inches straining per minute, but the valve can be regulated so as to reduce the speed to A-inch per minute. The speed is under easy control through a wide range, and can be altered at pleasure during the progress of the test. Thus it may be slow until the elastic limit is reached, and increased during the plastic stage. In fluid connection with the straining-cylinder there is an autographic recorder which draws a curve in one direction by the pressure in the straining-cylinder, and in the other direction by the strain of the specimen. Friction in the ram of the recorder is overcome by causing it to revolve, and the indications of the latter are calibrated in the steelyard of the testing machine, so that the friction in the main straining-ram is accounted for. If the hydraulic valve were opened full bore, it would not be possible to adjust the poise-weight so as to keep the steelyard in equilibrium, but when once the hydrographic recorder has been calibrated the poise-weight may be taken to the extreme end of the steelyard, and a full test can be made without rocking the steelyard, and the result obtained from the autograph. The straining system consists of a hydraulic cylinder-ram and notched frame which slides out, carrying the straining crosshead. The weighing system consists of two long parallel rods with three crossheads or weighbridges. This parallel frame floats on knife-edges. Whatever force comes upon the weighbridges is communicated through the crosshead to the elbow-lever, the fulcrum of which rests on an anvil at the back of the hydraulic cylinder. The elbow-lever communicates the force to the back-centre of the steelyard-lever above it. Poise-weights on the steelyards measure the forces. The crosshead, being movable in the notched frame, can be adjusted so as to take long or short specimens either in tension or compression. The torsion apparatus is placed in the back of the main fulcrum of the lever. It is capable of exerting a twisting movement of 224,000 inch-lbs., and will twist in two a bar of iron 2i inches in diameter. The machine is capable of dealing with specimens in single shear up to 2 inches square. An illustration of this testing-machine is published in the special issue of the Ironmonger of September 7, 1901, from which source this description is borrowed. When all the other machines at present being made are placed in position, the laboratory will undoubtedly be one of the most fully equipped establishments in the kingdom, and a worthy monument to the great engineer after whom it is named, as well as an honour to the City of Glasgow.
THE GLASGOW EXHIBITION.
1901 Glasgow International Exhibition
The Great International Exhibition of Glasgow was opened by Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Fife and His Grace the Duke of Fife on the site occupied by a similar undertaking in 1888, in the grounds of Kelvingrove Park. The buildings, from the designs of Mr. James Miller, are situated on the side of the New Art Galleries, which in part are the outcome of the surplus of £54,000 left over from the previous exhibition. Inclusive of the permanent Fine Art Galleries, in which were a collection of pictures and sculpture by British and foreign artists, the buildings covered an area of nearly 20 acres. The chief buildings comprised the Industrial Hall, the Machinery Hall, the Grand Avenue, and the Concert Hall. The Industrial Hal], with the great dome and its flanking towers, was 700 feet long, 320 feet wide, and covered nearly 6 acres. Throughout its length ran the Central Avenue, 90 feet in width by about 70 feet in height. The Great Dome was 80 feet in diameter, and with its four flanking white towers rose to a height of 210 feet above the floor level of the grounds. Surrounding the Dome at a height of 75 feet from the ground was an extensive balcony 500 feet in circumference and averaging 25 feet wide. At the grand entrance to the Industrial Section of the Exhibition there was a piazza and colonnade 188 feet long and 80 feet wide, the floor of which was laid with black and white cement. Leading up to the colonnade was a flight of 15 steps running the entire length. The Machinery Hall occupied a site on the opposite side of Dumbarton Road from the Art Galleries, and a grand avenue with a roof span of 75 feet and 1000 feet long extended from the west-end of the Industrial Section, and gave access to the Art Galleries. By means of the grand avenue, the whole of the Exhibition buildings were brought under one roof covering. The Machinery Hall had a length of 500 feet and a width of 320 feet, divided longitudinally into a central corridor 100 feet wide, and four side avenues 52 feet 9 inches, the area altogether being nearly 5 acres. The Concert Hall, occupying the site of old Kelvingrove House, for many years used as a museum of natural history, was a huge amphitheatre, circular in plan, the internal diameter being 140 feet, and covered by an immense domed roof of steel, rising in the centre to a height of about 110 feet to top of lantern. A circular gallery ran round the building, carried on cantilevers so as to obviate columns in the area. The buildings of the Exhibition are described and illustrated by Mr. James Miller, the architect, in the Journal of the Royal Institute of British Architects (vol. viii., 1901, p. 477). The scope of the Exhibition was wide and general, giving a very full representation of the produce and manufactures of the British Empire, its dependencies, dominions, and colonies, as well as an adequate representation from other countries. The steel exhibits at Glasgow were mainly contributed by the firms in the neighbourhood, including the Steel Company of Scotland, Limited, the Glasgow Iron and Steel Company, Limited, Messrs. David Colville & Sons, the Lanarkshire Steel Company, Limited, the Summerlee & Mossend Iron and Steel Company, Limited, and Messrs. W. Beardmore & Co. The most prominent feature of the exhibits of these firms was the display of steel plates and angles for shipbuilding purposes, illustrating the remarkable advances that have been made during recent years in this branch of the steel industry. The exhibits in this category showed that ship plates can be rolled up to 100 feet in length and nearly 150 feet in width, and that the plates are of very high quality.
THE BANQUET.
On Wednesday night, September 4, the members of the Institute were entertained by the Local Reception Committee at a banquet in St. Andrew's Hall, which was very elaborately and tastefully decorated with ferns, palms, and flowers. The chair was occupied by Mr. William Beardmore, Chairman of the Reception Committee, and among the four hundred guests present were:—Mr. William Whitwell (the President of the Institute); the Lord Provost of Glasgow (Mr. Samuel Chisholm, LL.D.); Sir E. H. Carbutt, Bart., Member of Council; Sir David Dale, Bart., Past President; Sir Douglas Fox, Mr. E. Windsor Richards, Past President; Mr. E. P. Martin, Past President; Mr. G. J. Snelus, Vice-President; Mr. James Riley, Vice-President; Mr. Arthur Keen, Vice-President; Dr. William Jacks; Dr. Robert Caird; Mr. A. K. M'Cosh; and Mr. Neil Robson. At the central table were seated Mr. David Evans, Mr. G. Ainsworth, Mr. A. Greiner, Mr. Stead, Mr. W. Evans, Mr. TannettWalker, Mr. J. M. While, Mr. E. J. Ljungberg, Don Tomas de Zubiria, Mr. A. Wahlberg, the City Chamberlain, Mr. Augustus Helder, M.P.; Mr.. E. Parkes, M.P.; Don Julio de Lathrtegui, His Excellency Don Arturo de Marcoartu, Mr. C. H. Morgan (Massachusetts), Mr. Walter Wood (Philadelphia), Mr. Robert Miller, Mr. Robert Angus, Bailie Clelland, Prof. A. Barr, Mr. Bryan Donkin, Mr. E. Worthington, and Mr. J. D. Cormack. A member of the Reception Committee presided at each of the other ten tables and looked after the comfort of the guests.
Special mention should be made of the menu cards, which contained some well-chosen photographic views of Glasgow arranged in a most artistic manner. They were much appreciated by the guests as souvenirs of the gathering. An excellent band was in attendance, and the musical programme had been admirably selected.
The loyal toasts " The King " and "Queen Alexandra, the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall and York, and other members of the Royal Family," having been duly honoured, Mr. E. WINDSOR RICHARDS, Past President, proposed " The City of Glasgow." He said that it had been his privilege to visit Glasgow at least a dozen times every year for some years past, and on every occasion he had been much struck with thee enterprise which lie saw everywhere displayed. The members warmly appreciatecl,the kindness and hospitality which they had received from the Lord Provost and Corporation of the City of Glasgow.
The LORD PROVOST, in reply, said he noticed that the form of the toast differed somewhat from the usual one of the Lord Provost, Magistrates, and Corporation of the City. He approved of the change. It was a recognition of the fact that the city was greater than any corporation. Sometimes there might be a disposition on the part of some members of the corporation itself to cherish the idea that the city existed for them. The city consisted not of so many acres, so many miles of streets, or the widened and deepened Clyde. It consisted of 750,000 men, women, and children. It was they who carried on the work of the city from year's end to year's end, and when they talked of the city let them remember that it was these people who made the city what it was. As • to the Iron and Steel Institute, it was no Institute for putting barriers against the buyer, or diminishing competition amongst the producers. It did not marshal its forces to carry on an industrial war, but it existed for the purpose of improving and extending the great industry on which the prosperity of the city of Glasgow so greatly depended. It existed for the purpose of making sure that its industries were carried on with intelligence, and with sufficient scientific and technical knowledge to make sure that they deserved the prosperity at which they aimed, and to that extent it was only the smallest and most obvious duty of any one who had the honourable position to which his fellow-citizens had raised himself that he should take every opportunity of expressing the warmest interest they felt in such an Institute as this, and the sincere and cordial wishes that they cherished for its continued prosperity. It was an industry on which the prosperity and comfort of so many of the toiling children of the district depended, and they would join with him in hoping that they would long continue to have a course of uninterrupted prosperity and minister still more than it had done in the past to the happiness and well-being of their people.
Mr. WILLIAM JACKS, LL.D., proposed the toast of the evening, viz., " The Iron and Steel Institute." Addressing the Chairman, the Lord Provost, and the Members, he said: At genial meetings like the present he did not think it desirable even for such an important toast to make a long speech, but he would like to say that he was indeed gratified by the compliment in being asked to propose the toast of the Iron and Steel Institute, though he was aware he owed the compliment to his position of prospective president of the West of Scotland Iron and Steel Institute more than to his own personality. He was sure that the gratification he felt in being asked to propose this toast was but an earnest of the gratification which the community at large felt at the visit of the Institute whose prosperity he proposed. If they looked at the position of the Iron and Steel Industries when this Institute was formed and the appearance it now presented, they would have some idea of the boons which the members of this Institute had brought to these times and left as a legacy to ages yet to come. It would not be becoming on a festal occasion like the present to inflict upon the visitors a speech dealing with these various achievements nor with their gradually increasing value and importance, nor would it be becoming to apportion credit for the high position and increasing usefulness of this Institute: to the various presidents whose names adorned its roll. Perhaps, however, he might be permitted to say that it seemed to work in two principal directions, the one purely practical and inventive as represented by Sir Henry Bessemer and his brother inventors and discoverers, the other in what he would call social and industrial economics as represented by another distinguished past president, Sir David Dale, who with others instituted the sliding scale and Conciliation Board, tending to lessen the traditional, he might almost say hereditary, class prejudice if not indeed hostility, which had often wrought as much harm as obsolete machinery. The result of the labours in these two directions had been the great improvement in purely mechanical arrangements, the advancement of science and the pouring of the glory of a new complexion over the features of the lives of toiling humanity. But it was not to their deeds alone they were indebted, nor yet to their talents, spirit, and character, but they were more indebted to that magic magnetic power which enabled them to influence vast bodies of their fellow-men to follow in their footsteps. But green though these laurels were which they had acquired, they could not afford to rest upon them. All these achievements must be regarded as but " an earnest of the things that they must do." So far as he had learned history there had never been a period in the history of their country, and in this he naturally included also the history of England, when questions of greater import present themselves for solution than those appearing on the horizon of this new century. What those questions were he would reserve for himself to detail and deal with on an early occasion. Times of trial, it was evident, awaited them, but he did not think, if they were true to themselves, that these need cause them despondency, much less despair. A thoughtful French writer said that the British people saw best in a cloudy climate, and so, even though threatening clouds seemed gathering fast, if they but remained faithful to the examples of the great types of the men to whom he had referred, who were the representatives of the high manly qualities of indomitable resolution, of comprehensive purpose, and adventurous energy, they would in the hour of their need find men with hearts and heads wise to conceive and hands swift to execute all that was required by the exigencies of the time. He coupled with the toast the name of Mr. William Whitwell, the President of the Institute, who, in addition to his well-known ability and evident manly personality, spread around the higher and nobler influence of a stainless reputation and splendid name.
The PRESIDENT had the pleasure of having been a member of the Institute since its commencement some thirty years ago; but he had never been present on any occasion when the members were roused to such a measure of enthusiasm as when listening to the address of the Lord Provost of Glasgow. The Institute had been privileged to visit many of the most interesting iron and steel manufacturing centres in Europe and America, and they had been most hospitably received everywhere. These excursions had a tendency to broaden their views, increase their sympathies, widen their knowledge, and make them the better fitted to treat all men as brethren. Coming to Scotland again, he had the greatest admiration for its splendid educational institutions which gave to every Scotsman an opportunity of making the best use of those talents which the Almighty had given them. Wherever they had been in their journeyings they had found Scotsmen who were successful and honourable citizens of the country in which they had settled. As to the praises of Dr. Jacks of their Institute, they must never forget the services of Mr. John Jones, their first Secretary, and the projector of their Iron and Steel Institute, and those who had followed him. He urged the members to strive to keep up the character of the Institute as one of the best managed, and pleasantest industrial educational organisations with which this country had been blessed. They had had a most successful meeting in Glasgow, and they would never forget the kindness and hospitality of its citizens. He concluded by proposing the health of the Chairman.
The CHAIRMAN, Mr. Beardmore, Member of Council, said in reply that he hoped they would all leave Scotland with pleasant recollections of their visit.
THE GLENGARNOCK IRON AND STEEL WORKS.
An invitation to visit these works, one of the most important iron and steel making plants in Scotland, was given by the kindness of Mr. J. C. Cuninghame, and on Thursday, September 5, a special train conveyed about 150 of the members to Glengarnock. They were met and welcomed by the general manager, Mr. E. J. Windsor Richards, his chief assistant, Captain Pearson, and Mr. Mackinnon the secretary. Several other members of the firm's staff were also in attendance, and acted as guides to the party.
The plant comprises seven blast-furnaces of modern design, with an extensive by-product recovery plant, for the recovery of ammonia and tar from the gases, a Bessemer steel manufacturing plant, and an open-hearth installation. The auxiliary departments include a large foundry and engineering shops completely equipped with modern machine tools. Of the blast-furnaces one is quite new, and has only recently been put into successful operation. This is 62 feet in height and 16 feet in diameter at the bosh with ten tuyeres. The usual blast pressure is 4 to 4i lbs., and under these conditions the output of basic iron is about 300 tons per week. The fuel used is entirely raw coal.
Detailed descriptions of the visits to these and other works have been published in special numbers of the Iron and Coal Trades Review (vol. lxiii., September 6), and of the Ironmonger (vol. scni., September 7). The descriptions are accompanied by numerous admirable illustrations, Five of the furnaces, including the new one, are employed in the production of basic pig, while the other two are usually occupied in making haematite. The haematite ore is imported at Ardrossan, the Glengarnock works being situated about midway between that port and Glasgow. Twelve Massicks and Crookes' stoves and four Cowper stoves are provided for the seven blast-furnaces, and the fuel used is coal mixed with a small percentage of coke, the consumption of this latter being limited to meet the requirements of the above mentioned by-product plant. The ore which is smelted in the basic furnaces is mined within the precincts of the works themselves, and the winding engines and calcining kilns form an important adjunct of the plant.) The native ore, however; does not contain more than 35 per cent. of iron, and it is now the usual practice to enrich it by the addition of 50 per cent. of tap cinder, which latter is procured from the finished iron works in the Airdrie and Coatbridge district, and contains about 60 per cent, of iron.
The open-hearth plant comprises three 25-ton furnaces, and is well equipped with cranes and labour-saving appliances. The ingots are placed in gas-fired soaking-pits while awaiting their conversion into plates and girders. The Company has, however, decided to dismantle this plant and adopt the Talbot process, which is to be carried on in a 160-ton furnace. The erecting, of this is to be proceeded with at once. In the laying out of the Bessemer plant the sequence of operations has been carefully studied, with a view to rapid working with a minimum expenditure of labour in handling the material. From the point of leaving the casting-pit the ingots travel forward on a practically straight course through each successive stage, until they emerge in their final form from the last pass of the finishing rolls. The service of the casting-pit is performed by two 15-ton hydraulic cranes and ladles, and four 10-ton hydraulic radial cranes are employed to lift the ingots from the casting-pits, deposit them in the soaking-pits, and subsequently to withdraw and place them on a hydraulic tipping-cradle which conveys them to the first train of live rollers. Four cupolas are fixed in conjunction with the converters, and two horizontal blowing engines, with 54-inch blast cylinders and 42-inch steam cylinders with a stroke of 6 feet, supply the blast to the latter at a pressure of about 20 lbs. The molten pig iron for supplying the converters is transported from the blast-furnaces in ladles through a tunnel about 300 yards long. The hydraulic pumping plant, which distributes power to the cranes and other apparatus, supplies water at a pressure of 600 lbs. per square inch. Among other labour-saving devices, the hydraulic lever arrangement for lifting the soaking-pit lids is deserving of special mention. This consists of a low frame on four wheels traversing on a track in front of the row of pits, and carrying a projecting arm. By means of a hydraulic cylinder this can be raised and lowered, and thus -made to pick up a cover from its place and hold it suspended while the apparatus swiftly travels to one side clear of the pit.
The rolling-mill plant includes a plate-mill with rolls, 36 inches in diameter by 7i long, which are driven by horizontal engines made by Miller & Co. of Coatbridge. The girder mills during the members' visit were in full operation, working on 16-inch by 6-inch girders, rolling them from the ingot at a single heat. These mills, which form one of the most elaborate and complete plants in the district, are provided with rolls for turning out the largest sized girders in use. The roll-changing cranes are of the electric overhead travelling type, and are capable of effecting the change of rolls in a very brief space of time. The installation also includes a large saw for cutting girders 24 by 8 inches, and a fish-plate machine with four housings, two for straightening and two for punching. A new girder bank, 400 feet in length, has enabled the firm to increase largely the output of these mills.
The electric-power installation also excited the admiration of the visitors by the smooth and noiseless working of the engine and dynamo. The plant, which develops 250 E.H.P., is partly of American design. The power here generated is chiefly used to drive the machinery in a large compound girder shed which is worked entirely by electricity, this being a recent addition to the plant of this enterprising firm. The proceedings terminated with a luncheon, served in a marquee within the works, at which Mr. J. C. Cuninghame presided. Towards the close Mr. Arthur Keen, Vice-President, proposed the health of the chairman and host, which, after being duly honoured, was acknowledged by him in a few graceful words. A second toast, to the prosperity of the Glengarnock Iron and Steel Works, was then proposed by Mr. David Evans, Member of Council, and was responded to by Mr. Edgar Richards, the general manager. The party, then broke up, after having spent a most instructive and enjoyable day, and returned to the special train which was drawn up within the works in readiness to convey them back to Glasgow.
THE GLASGOW IRON AND STEEL COMPANY'S WORKS AT WISHAW.
The second alternative excursion which had been arranged as a part of the programme, was to the works of the Glasgow Iron and Steel Company, Limited, at Wishaw. About 140 members, including the President, proceeded thither on September 5 in a special train which had been placed at their disposal by the kindness of the Caledonian Railway Company. On their arrival they were received by Mr. Wylie and the principal members of the firm, who then conducted them over the works. The blast-furnace plant consists of four furnaces in a line. They are all 65 feet in height, this being about the extreme for furnaces using coal as fuel. The diameter at the boshes is 16i feet, and that of the hearths is 8 feet, the tuyeres being nine in number, placed at equal intervals round the hearth. In accordance with Scottish practice the fuel used is the excellent splint coal of the district, the gases being drawn off and treated in an ammonia recovery plant. The air blast is delivered at a pressure of about 6 lbs., and the weekly production per furnace is about 300 tons. All the furnaces are arranged for delivering the molten pig iron direct to the open-hearth steel furnaces, the liquid metal being conveyed in 18-ton ladles by means of wire-rope haulage. The metal can also, if desired, be run into pig-beds.
The ammonia recovery plant has been at work some years, and has several features of interest. The gas is brought from each furnace in a downcomer leading into a main 8 feet in diameter, which conducts it some distance.to the recovery plant where it is cooled and washed. During this process the tar and ammoniacal liquors are extracted and automatically separated in special vessels, whence they are run into either of the divisions of a large storage tank placed underground. Each compartment of this tank is capable of holding 100,000 gallons. The liquors are drawn off as required, and forced by compressed air into the charging tanks which keep the tar stills constantly supplied. These latter are four in number, and are heated by the purified gas. The gases after washing and cooling are returned by another main 5 feet in diameter, carried along the front of the furnaces, from which branch smaller pipes fitted with controlling valves and dampers to the fire-brick stoves and steam boilers. In the event of a possible stoppage of the ammonia plant, provision is made for taking the gas direct from the larger main to the stoves and boilers. The most ample precautions have been taken to guard against the risk of damage by explosion. The proportion of products recovered varies with the quality of the coal, but they are said to average about 27 lbs. of sulphate of ammonia, 90 lbs. of pitch, and 6i gallons of oil per ton of coal carbonised in the furnace. The open-hearth plant consists of 12 open-hearth furnaces, three being of 50 tons and nine of 30 tons capacity. The steel produced in these furnaces is made up into plates and bars, the capacity of the whole plant being about 100,000 tons per annum of finished products. The members were subsequently entertained at luncheon, when Mr. William Whitwell, President of the Institute, proposed the toast of prosperity to the Company.
CARRON COMPANY'S WORKS.
On September 5 a large party of members of the Iron and Steel Institute availed themselves of the invitation of Carron Company to visit their works. The party was met at a platform, that had been specially built for the convenience of the visitors, by Mr. J. J. Maclaren, the Chairman of the Company, Mr. Bamforth, the foundry manager, and other officials, and were conducted through the works. The works, which are two miles north of Falkirk, were founded in 1759, being among the first established in Scotland. They are now the oldest in active operation. They had an early reputation, due largely to the manufacture of the carronade, a gun much used on board ship for close engagements. There are four blast-furnaces, each 60 feet in height and 17 feet in diameter at the bosh. The hearths are 10 feet in diameter, and eight tuyeres are provided which supply the blast at a temperature of about 1200° F. and at 4i lbs. pressure. The production of each furnace averages about 310 tons weekly. The principal variety of iron smelted is foundry-pig, which is almost entirely used in the Company's own foundries, probably the most extensive in the whole of Scotland. A considerable quantity of blackband ironstone is still mined by the Carron Company, the firm being one of the few who possess deposits of this mineral which are not yet nearing exhaustion. They are at present drawing supplies from a hitherto almost untouched source. In smelting it the usual Scottish practice is followed in all essentials, but no by-products are recovered from the gases before utilising them to heat the stoves and raise steam in the boilers. On leaving the furnaces, the visitors proceeded through the foundries and moulding shops, where they witnessed being made the numerous products for which the firm has for so long been justly famous. In the heavy foundry castings up to 30 tons in weight are turned out for marine and land engines and heavy machine tools, and it is from here that many of the Clyde shipyards get their largest castings. The light products are made in another department, consisting of a series of buildings where nearly a thousand operatives are employed in the moulding and casting of almost every conceivable variety of light castings, such as stoves, kitchen boilers, and hollow ware of all kinds. The moulding of all these is done entirely by hand, and it is chiefly to the extreme skill of the workmen in this respect that the excellence of the products is to be attributed. Several attempts have been made by the firm to produce the same results with moulding machinery, but it was always found that a uniform quality of casting could not be assured, and the percentage of rejections was too large. In proximity to the foundries is the porcelain enamelling department, where the coating of baths and other articles with a glazing mixture is carried out. This includes kilns for heating the articles to be enamelled and stamp-mills for grinding the glaze. There is also a spacious machine shop with a number of modern tools, for dealing with such castings as require to be finished by machining. A third foundry, known as the new foundry, was added to the works about three years ago. This is about half a mile distant from the older ones, and the moulding shop alone covers some two and a half acres. The buildings are fitted up in most convenient and modern style, and it is served by two cupolas each capable of melting 40 to 50 tons per day. Carron Company not only deals in finished iron products, but they own extensive coal mines, the coal from which supplies their own requirements. One of their collieries produces an excellent foundry coke, and thus they are also able to manufacture coke on a large scale, which is sold to outside buyers. It is now many years since the Company organised a weekly service of steamers, known as the Carron line, for the transport of their products to London and elsewhere. After visiting the bronzing and galvanizing departments, and bestowing an interested glance on the old building, which is the sole remaining portion of the original Carron Foundry established 150 years ago, the party assembled in the offices where, in a spacious hall gaily decorated with flags and palms, a luncheon had been prepared by the Company. The chair was occupied by Mr. Maclaren, Chairman of the Company, the general manager, Mr. Archibald McLellan, being unfortunately prevented from attending by illness. Mr. George Beard, President of the West of Scotland Iron and Steel Institute, proposed the toast of prosperity to the Carron Company, to which Mr. Maclaren responded in a cordial speech. The latter then proposed the toast of prosperity to the Iron and Steel Institute, to which Mr. Bennett H. Brough, the secretary, responded. The health of Mr. Bamforth, the foundry manager, and of the other members of the staff who had organised the entertainment, was then proposed by Mr. Crosland (Manchester), and this was acknowledged by Mr. Bamforth. In the afternoon the party returned to Glasgow by special train.
THE WAVERLEY IRON AND STEEL WORKS, COATBRIDGE.
On September 3, about fifty members of the Institute visited the works of the Waverley Iron and Steel Company, Limited. At these works there are some twenty-three puddling-furnaces, four heating-furnaces, and two scrap-furnaces. Steam is raised for driving the machinery from the waste heat of the furnaces, and the mills are nearly all of the three-high roll type. The works were erected about eighteen or twenty years ago, and the Company has been enabled to increase the production from 750 tons in the first year to nearly 4000 tons per month, which is certainly very good evidence of the favour in which their respective brands are held at home and abroad. The works cover ten acres, and during late years they have been greatly enlarged, the whole working resources being directed to the production of iron of the finest description. The Company have been successful in introducing from time to time various specialties for railway and other work where sections are required, such as knee-bars, railway wheel-spokes, with varying tapers in length, breadth, &c., as well as many other important sections. Within the works there is every appliance for testing, showing the results in tensile strain, elongation, and contraction, by one of Buckton's patent testing-machines. A special feature of the Waverley Works is the manufacture of iron to meet the wants of golf-cleek makers. Their list of manufactures further includes soft faggot and keg steel, which they export to the Indian markets, and scrap iron and steel slabs for rolling, down or hammering into shafts—these latter being for home consumption. Before leaving the Waverley Works refreshments were served, and Mr. F. W. Paul proposed the health of the Waverley Co., coupled with that of Mr. George Garrett. The party subsequently visited the Rochsalloch Iron Works belonging to the same company.
These works are employed largely in the manufacture of iron for boiler and gas tube purposes. They were started in 1858, and acquired by the present owners in 1888.
MESSRS. WILLIAM BAIRD & CO.'S GARTSHERRIE IRON WORKS, COATBRIDGE.
These works were visited by a party of members on September 3. The firm is an old-established one, dating back as far as 1829, and it gained an early reputation for the excellence of its productions. The early career of the firm was associated with an event which is possessed of historic interest for the iron-producing world. This was the celebrated trial in which James Beaumont Neilson sought to establish against the Company his rightful claim to the invention of the hot-blast. Messrs. Baird maintained that the patent was invalid, and the case, lasting eleven days, was contested at Edinburgh in 1843. Over a hundred witnesses were examined, including most of the leading metallurgical scientists of the day; the result being that a verdict was given in favour of the patentee, and damages amounting to upwards of £100,000 were awarded. The prosperity of the Company was, however, in no way seriously prejudiced by the adverse results of the trial. They were owners of exceptionally valuable mineral deposits, both ironstone and coal, in close proximity to their works, and under the enlightened management of the Brothers Baird they continued to flourish uninterruptedly. These resources, of course, do not exist to the same extent at the present day, but with characteristic enterprise the firm has sought out and acquired new fields, as the old ones became exhausted, and they now ship upwards of 400,000 tons of haematite ore annually from their own mines in the south of Spain. In fact, haematite iron now forms nearly one half of their total production. To the Gartsherrie Works is also due the credit of being the pioneers in developing in Scotland the system of utilising the by-products in the blast-furnace gases.
In 1881 Mr. A. K. McCosh, the present managing director, introduced the process which has since been adopted at almost all other Scotch works. There are some twelve blast-furnaces at work, which vary from 57 to 62 feet in height, with a 16-foot bosh. It is a customary practice to calcine the local ore at the mines before bringing it to the works, the clayband ironstone •in kilns and the blackband in open-hearths. The ore is afterwards broken up and conveyed to the blast-furnaces. The splint coal used contains 52 per cent. of fixed carbon.
THE STEEL COMPANY OF SCOTLAND'S HALLSIDE STEEL WORKS
Steel Company of Scotland, Hallside Steel Works
These works were visited by a party of members on September 3. The visitors were first conducted to the open-hearth melting furnaces, of which there are fourteen. Twelve of these are arranged in one straight row, and two in a second row, three being of 35 tons and eleven of 25 tons capacity. Opposite the furnaces, and parallel with these, is a row of gas producers of the Siemens type, some of which are provided with mechanical stoking apparatus. The casting house is served by two powerful overhead travelling cranes and one locomotive crane. The mill department stands on a level above that of the ingot-casting house, and the ingots are transported on bogies along an inclined track to the soaking furnaces, in which they are placed by means of hydraulic charging cranes, to be heated previous to passing through the cogging mill. This latter is driven by a 4-cylinder reversing engine. The ingots, on being withdrawn from the furnaces, pass down an inclined roller rack, and after being rolled into blooms, are transported by means of traversing gear to the bar-mill. The bar-mill, in which all kinds of heavy sections are rolled, is also driven by a 4-cylinder reversing engine, and is fitted with live rollers, delivery racks, and hot saws, where the bars are cut to the required length before being transferred to the cooling beds. The next object to be visited was the 18-inch mill for sections, driven by a compound engine coupled direct on to the mill, and fitted with a governor and cut-off gear. The blooms and ingots are heated in coal- and gas-fired furnaces, the former having overhead steam boilers heated by the waste gases. Near this mill is a 14-inch mill of the same type for lighter work, which is driven in the same manner by a compound engine coupled direct. The heating furnaces in connection with this are also coal-fired, and have overhead steam boilers. The forging department was then inspected. Here there are four steam hammers of 8 and 4 tons' weight, with overhead cranes, gas, and coal-fired heating furnaces for the working of large forgings and railway axles. The foundry department is very extensive, and fully equipped for turning out all descriptions of heavy castings. It includes a casting shop with two large Siemens furnaces, and overhead cranes, for transporting the ladles of molten steel. Dressing shops are also provided for dressing the castings before they pass into the machine shop, and these, too, are equipped with overhead cranes and annealing ovens. A visit to the smithy, machine and repairing shops, completed the tour of the works.
See Also
Sources of Information